Best meat birds, NOT Cornish cross

[JacinLarkwell]

Personally not a very large bird, but Pheonix roosters sure make you feel fancy eating them

 

[iwltfum]

but I would venture to say that to grow out a Brahma 8-10 months with free range time, you’ll see almost double the weight on equal to or less than the same amount of feed.

Are you saying you can get a brahma to yield the same feed conversion as a cornish cross?

 

[WNYfarmfresh]

Are you saying you can get a brahma to yield the same feed conversion as a cornish cross?

Again I haven’t done a complete study, but raising them side by side in the same brooder it’s easy to say that there’s a better conversion. Really what you’re getting is a quicker turnover and a heavier breast. If the Brahma chick eats a teaspoon of food, the Cornish will eat a cup.

 

[Stephanie8806]

So here is a size comparison. Four week Cornish/Light Brahma. Notice the considerable size difference. Keep in mind however, the Brahma consumes nowhere near as much as the Cornish aka garbage disposal. I haven’t done an exhaustive study.... but I would venture to say that to grow out a Brahma 8-10 months with free range time, you’ll see almost double the weight on equal to or less than the same amount of feed.
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Man, CornishX are freaky looking thank you for the pictures! So, they grow slower, but are you saying that your Brahmas don’t eat much more than a standard chicken?

 

[WNYfarmfresh]

Those are HUGE weights on the Brahma. Are the Buffs bigger than the Dark? You've got good bloodlines, that's clear. Mine are from TSC (so Hoover Hatchery), there will be breeding choices in the coming generations to try and bulk up a bit. My biggest would have to put on almost 15# in the next 6 months to match yours.

He’s definitely got great stature. He doesn’t seem as big next to his Brahma hens. The hens are still definitely formidable. My smallest Brahma hen is just under 10#. I haven’t noticed much of a size difference between dark/light/buff but there are bantam variations.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

My free Range Brahma eat only a little more than my free range Comets, about the same as my free range "Rainbows" (Hoover Hatchery's "Freedom Ranger-type" birds) [edit to correct my error - HH now has the "Rudd Ranger", a heavier bird]. They weigh barely more than the Comets, a little less than the Rainbows - significantly less than the best of my Rainbows - and will be some time yet before I see the first egg or they are anything close to full size.

I love their personalities, and they are active little birds - but in my (extremely limited) experience, their feed conversion is nothing like (maybe half as) the efficiency of the CornishX, who wouldn't move at all given the opportunity to bury their heads in the gravity feeder.

 

[WNYfarmfresh]

So, they grow slower, but are you saying that your Brahmas don’t eat much more than a standard chicken?

Correct

 

[WNYfarmfresh]

The first 3-4 months Brahmas build the framework, the next 3-4 months they put on the weight. Mine drop their first eggs at the 6 month mark and lay an egg a day.

 

[Stephanie8806]

@WNYfarmfresh That may actually be the bird I’m looking for, if I adjust my acquisition-harvest timeline. I keep my flock of layers, and I wouldn’t mind having a meat bird a few extra months if they’re also laying eggs.

Only problem is, I’d need another coop for all those big chickens!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

With apology for the angle, this is last month. Snapped a picture with the cell phone as I opened up the gate and they tried to run past my feet. Its the only picture I have with several Brahma, several Rainbows, and part of a CornishX all in the photo at a reasonable distance. Full disclosure, the Rainbows and cX are 16 weeks the Brahma only 12. The Cornish was just over 8# at that point, based on my records.